Emancipation of A Drama Queen

Yesterday my sister and I were talking on the phone and at some point we began talking about our cars. I excitedly mentioned that my car will be paid off next month and how this will be the first time I have ever paid off a car. Then our conversation migrated into talking about how she wants a Camry Hybrid and will begin shopping for one soon. Of course, the mention of gas prices came up and how the cost of fuel and fuel mileage was a large reason for going with a hybrid. She then mentioned that her next car, no matter what it was, had to have a 5-star crash rating because her current car, a Kia Sorento, has a 5-star rating. She said she feels very safe in her car and wants to make sure her next car keeps her and her family safe too.

A few hours later I received this picture from my sister on my phone, with no explanation….

…it was self explanatory.

Needless to say, I sort of freaked out even though I knew that if she was well enough to take this picture with her phone and then send it to me, she had to be fine. Still, I immediately called her because I was incredibly worried.

She was still at the scene of the accident and couldn’t really talk. She assured me she was fine and would call me soon, then we both started crying.

Neither one of us could have ever known how foretelling our conversation earlier that day was.

She is fine, just very, very sore of course. Her kids were not with her, thank goodness, because she was just leaving work. I’m sure she tied up traffic on the busy I-10 freeway in Phoenix for a while. I guess she was sandwiched when she was hit; she was hit from behind and then forced into the car in front of her, so she took the brunt of the crash.

This is obviously the back of her car where she was hit, and you can see the remnents of the bumper from the van who hit her.

The guy who hit her (I would love to pummel him for hurting my sister, but, accidents do happen. Now, if he was talking on his phone or screwing around and not paying attention, then I will still gladly pummel the fuck).

She is ok and that is all that truly matters but I’m just upset because I wasn’t there for her, and how, ironically, we had a conversation on the same day about she feels safe in her Kia. While I don’t know exactly what a 5-star crash rating encompasses, it’s obvious that this car protected my sister, but would other cars have protected her too? Would other cars similar to hers have been in this same crash and NOT been totaled? What really gave Kia this 5-star rating? I mean, her airbag didn’t deploy and there is extensive damage to her dashboard INSIDE the car? In the end, because she is ok, this stuff seems pretty trivial, but it still makes me wonder.

A week ago, my dear friend was hurt in a car accident. Now, my sister. Things happen in threes so who is next? Thankfully my friend and my sister were both fine considering the extents of their crashes.